Fab News: In a Chinese Theater Far Far Away

It’s been quite a week: movie premieres, DCA News, a new wizard, oh . . . and I’m in the middle of a big move and managed to come down with pneumonia. But fear not, this drugged up blogette loves you too much to leave you alone at the keyboard. Here’s what I dug up for you:

Projections Look Good for the Chinese Theater

I know that some people were sad to see the Big Hat go away at Disney’s Hollywood Studios at Walt Disney World, but I loved the Chinese Theater as the park’s “Castle” – and I hear from the peeps up North that it’s getting the Castle treatment, too, a la “Celebrate the Magic”. You’ll get “Once Upon a Time”, but it will be followed by “a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away…” I don’t want to give away too much, but the fact that it IS the Chinese Theater is important.

D23 Magazine Salutes Disney Animation

John Lasseter, Ed Catmull and the Feature Animation “Story Trust” reveal secrets behind hits like Tangled and Frozen and a sneak peek into the future with a look at upcoming films Zootopia and Moana Plus, Disney twenty-three unveils rarely seen visual development art created for the Studio’s most recent films. On top of that, add exclusive interviews with GINNIFER GOODWIN, CHRIS EVANS (and a peek with director Joe Russo at Captain America: Civil War!), and The Jungle Book director JON FAVREAU.

Also included in the spring issue of Disney twenty-three:

High School Musical is TEN YEARS OLD!

Floyd Norman shows us concept art from The Jungle Book, the last film he worked on with Walt Disney himself.

A walk through Walt Disney’s office suite on the Studio lot, recently restored by the Walt Disney Archives.

The Lion Guard: Return of the Roar

This is a little bit of a deja view for me, as I was treated to a preview of the show along with many other D23 EXPO attendees and watched a few episodes on Disney Junior when it started up. The intro movie is now out on DVD, BluRay and digital download. What’s really neat about this release, other than being able to get it on demand even if you don’t have connectability to the rest of the world, is the bonus features – including a really adorable talking backpack pull with Kion’s face and voice! There is also a music video where you can watch Beau Black perform the theme song, “Here Comes the Lion Guard.”

Agent Kallus returns in Star Wars Rebels: “The Honorable Ones”

Zeb and Agent Kallus find themselves stranded on an ice planet after a failed Imperial ambush of the rebels. With Kallus injured from the escape pod crash, he and Zeb must work together to survive the harsh conditions. WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 24 (9:00 p.m., ET/PT) on Disney XD.

Zootopia Premiere

Filmmakers, voice cast and special guests walked the red carpet at the wild premiere of DISNEY’S ZOOTOPIA at the Historic El Capitan Theatre.

Thank You!

Thanks for the support, especially my Square and Patreon supporters and the people who buy stuff through the Amazon links when I remember to put them up. I truly, madly, deeply appreciate it! Also thanks to the nice folks at DVCResaleMarket.com – many of their customers followed them from DVC to DVCResaleMarket.com, so they know that they are the experts on Disney Vacation Club; if you have any questions, check them out. Nick and his team will be more than happy to help you out. They are patient, knowledgeable, and even fun to work with – read the reviews and you’ll find out for yourself!

If you want to reach me I’m on Twitter, on Facebook, and also available at [email protected] . If you’d like to support Fab News, I’d appreciate it. You can pledge a dollar or more a month through Patreon or you can make a one-time donation of a dollar or more through Square. Just click on the banners below. Thanks!

FTC-Mandated Disclosure:Sponsorship for this edition of Fab News was provided by DVC Resale Market.

Shelly Valladolid, aka Fab, has been writing about Disney and theme parks for about two decades. She has written for various fan and pop culture sites, Disney Magazine and OCRegister.com and participated in several books, including Passporter's Disneyland and Southern California and Disney World Dreams. She was co-founder and president of the Orlando, Florida chapter of the NFFC (now Disneyana Fan Club). She taught a class on theme park history at a Southern California University. She is creator and co-owner of Jim Hill Media, one of the creators of MousePlanet and was a consultant on MSNBC, The Motley Fool and others about Disney and various media matters. She was a Heel wrestling manager on TV and a voice artist on the radio in Honolulu, HI, where she grew up. She has a blog and a podcast with her daughter, Mission:Breakout Obsessive Alice Hill: . She and her husband, MiceChat columnist Noe Valladolid, live in Southern California with Alice.